Article for pulling a child&#39;s toy

ABSTRACT

A strap for pulling a child&#39;s wheeled toy has a handle for enabling a user to better grip a first end of the strap and a slotted ring attached to a second end of the strap. Middle portions of the strap can be fitted through the ring and placed around a yoke of a tricycle or wagon or other wheeled child&#39;s toy to enable an adult to more easily pull a small child on the wheeled toy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to an article for pulling wheeled vehicles, andmore particularly to an article for pulling a wheeled child's toy suchas a wagon or a tricycle.

2. Description of Related Art Children's wagons and tricycles arewell-known. Due to their being sized for use by small children, they arenecessarily smaller and lower than can conveniently be grasped byadults. When infants and small children are learning to ride tricyclesor wish to ride in a wagon, it is common for an adult to pull thechild's tricycle or wagon or other wheeled vehicle around the block on asidewalk. While this is enjoyable for the child, it is often difficultand uncomfortable for the adult due to the awkwardness of bending overto pull the tricycle or wagon while walking. Because of this difficultysome such rides are invariably cut short.

The present invention contemplates a new and improved article which issimple in design, effective in use, and overcomes the foregoingdifficulties and others while providing better and more advantageousoverall results.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a new and improved article forpulling a child's toy is provided which is adapted to assist an adult inpulling a wheeled vehicle.

More particularly, in accordance with the invention, the articleincludes a strap, gripping means and attaching means. The strap hasfirst and second ends and a length. The gripping means enables a user tobetter grip the first end of the strap and is attached to the first endof the strap. The attaching means is attached to the second end of thestrap and is effective to connect the article to the wheeled toy.

According to another aspect of the invention, the attaching means is astainless steel ring having a 45 degree slot and a diameter of about 1to 3 inches.

According to another aspect of the invention, the gripping means is ahandle which has opposite ends. Extensions are connected to the oppositeends to connect the handle to the first end of the strap. The handle iscomprised of a tubular cord covered by rubber mesh.

According to another aspect of the invention, the strap is made of nylonand is between 6 feet and 12 feet long.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method of pulling anassociated child's toy comprises steps of forming a loop by pushing amiddle portion of a strap through a ring, placing the loop over aportion of the associated toy, tightening the loop by pulling on thehandle, and pulling the associated toy by continuing to pull on thehandle.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method of pulling anassociated child's toy comprises steps of forming a loop by pushing amiddle portion of a strap through a slot in a slotted ring, placing theloop over a portion of the associated toy, tightening the loop bypulling on the handle, and pulling the associated toy by continuing topull on the handle.

One advantage of the present invention is a low cost, simple devicewhich is easily stored, strong, and effective in pulling a child'swheeled vehicle.

Another advantage is the raising of a pulling point farther above theground. For example, if an adult must pull on the actual handle of thewagon or the handle bars of a tricycle, that point is necessarily lowdue to the size of the child. By using the inventive article disclosedherein, this point of contact between the article to be pulled and theadult's hand is higher. By making this point higher, the adult can pullfrom an erect walking position, leading to healthier posture, lessfatigue and chance of injury.

Yet another advantage of the invention is the ability to allow a toddlerto peddle a tricycle up inclines while receiving only the requisiteamount of assistance from the adult. This enables the toddler to feellike he is climbing the incline himself and also allows the toddler toexercise by resisting the force of gravity up the incline.

A yet further advantage of the present invention is the increased safetyafforded to the toddler by having the wheeled vehicle connected to anadult's hand. Whether going up an incline or down, or otherwisedeviating from a sidewalk on a level surface, the inventive apparatusenables the parent to maintain a degree of control over the wheeledvehicle even while looking forward and not watching it.

Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon a readingand understanding of the following detailed specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangementsof parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail inthis specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings whichform a part hereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pulling article according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pulling article according to theinvention with a middle portion of the strap passed through a slot inthe slotted ring;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a slotted ring;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a slotted ring with the slot shown in anexaggerated open position for clarity;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pulling article according to theinvention with a middle portion of the strap pulled through the ring;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a pulling article according tothe invention attached to a child's wagon; and,

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a pulling article according to theinvention attached to the yoke of a tricycle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings where the showings are for purposes ofillustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only and not forpurposes of limiting the same, FIG. 1 shows a pulling article 10according to the invention. The pulling article comprises a strap 12, ahandle 14 and a ring 16.

The strap 12 has a first end 20 and a second end 22. The first end 20 isattached to the handle 14. In a preferred embodiment, this attachment iseffected by folding over the first end 20 of the strap end 12 andstitching it together as shown at 26. Similarly, the second end 22 ofthe strap 12 is affixed to the ring 16 by a similar attaching techniqueat 28.

In a preferred embodiment, the strap is made of nylon and has a lengthbetween 3 feet and 15 feet. In a preferred embodiment, the length is 6feet to 9 feet. Depending on the height of the person to pull thewheeled toy, as well as the height of the wheel toy, different lengthsof pulling articles 10 might be best. It is foreseeable that the lengthof the pulling article could be adjusted to accommodate such needs. Insuch case, an adjusting means, such as a slip knot, could be added tothe strap 12. In another embodiment, one of the ends 20, 22 of the strap12 could be fitted with an adjustment means to adjust the length of thestrap 12. The strap has a middle portion 30 which is generally definedas any point between the first end 20 and the second end 22. The use ofthe middle portion 30 will be discussed later.

The handle 14 is preferably tubular and has a slight arc to better fitthe hand of the adult who is to pull the wheeled toy. In a preferredembodiment, the tubular handle 14 is covered with a rubber mesh 15. Therubber mesh improves the user's grip while often increasing his comfort.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, extensions 34 extend from either end36,38 of the handle 14 and connect the ends 36,38 to the first end 20 ofthe strap 12. In a preferred embodiment, the handle 14 featuresdecorative indica 50. This indica 50 can be the child's name, the nameof the product itself, or the name of an entity giving away the pullingarticle as a promotion such as a day-care or school. Indicia 50 can alsobe conveniently placed on the strap 12.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, a ring 16 is shown. In the preferredembodiment, the ring is made of stainless steel and is a diameter Dbetween 1 inch and 3 inches. In one embodiment, the ring 16 includes aslot 40. In FIG. 4, the slot 40 is shown in an exaggerated openposition. The use of the slot 40 will be discussed later.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 2-4, one method of attaching thepulling article 10 to the child's wheeled toy is by threading the middleportion 30 of the strap 15 through the slot 40 and ring 16. By doing so,a loop 44 is created which can be placed over an appropriate part of achild's wheeled toy. For example, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, sucha loop 44 is shown being attached to a handle of a wagon 56 or the yoke60 of tricycle 58 handle bars 62, respectively.

With reference to FIG. 5, a second method of forming a loop 46 is shown.In this method, the middle portion 30 of the strap 12 is pushed throughthe center of ring 16 to form a loop 46. The loop 46 can be attached toan appropriate portion of a child's wheeled toy as shown in FIGS. 6 and7.

The invention has been described with reference to a preferredembodiment. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur toothers upon a reading and understanding of this specification. It isintended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar asthey come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalencethereof.

Having described the invention, it is now claimed:
 1. An article forpulling a child's wheeled toy, said article comprising:a strap, saidstrap having first and second ends and a length; a handle, said handlefor enabling an associated user to better grip said first end of saidstrap, said handle being attached to said first end of said strap, saidhandle having opposite ends, extensions connecting said opposite ends ofsaid handle to said first end of said strap, said handle being comprisedof a tubular core, said handle comprising a portion of an arc; and,attaching means for attaching said second end of said strap to said toy.2. The article of claim 1 wherein said article further comprises:rubbermesh, said handle being covered by said rubber mesh.
 3. The article ofclaim 1 wherein said strap is made of nylon.
 4. The article of claim 1wherein said length of said strap is between three feet and fifteenfeet.
 5. The article of claim 1 wherein said portion of said arc is lessthan 180 degrees.
 6. The article of claim 1 wherein said strap bearsindicia.
 7. The article of claim 6 wherein said handle bears indica. 8.An article for pulling a child's wheeled toy, said article comprising:astrap, said strap having first and second ends and a length; a handle,said handle for enabling an associated user to better grip said firstend of said strap, said handle being attached to said first end of saidstrap, said handle having opposite ends, extensions connecting saidopposite ends of said handle to said first end of said strap, saidhandle being comprised of a tubular core; a rubber mesh, said rubbermesh covering said handle; and, attaching means for attaching saidsecond end of said strap to said toy.